North Korea

Personnel & posture

Active personnel

1.3M

Reserve / mobilization pool

600k

Mobilization window

~2 days to full field army

GDP (est.)

$18B

Order of battle

• Strategic Rocket Forces

  • Hwasong-17 ICBM10 – 20

    Liquid ICBM

  • Hwasong-18 ICBM10 – 30

    Solid mobile ICBM

  • Hwasong-12 IRBM20 – 40

    Regional strike

  • Hwasong-16b (HGV)6 – 12

    Hypersonic glide

• Nuclear triad

  • Pukguksong SLBM6 – 12

    Submarine-launched

• KPN

  • Sinpo-class / Romeo-mod SSBN2 – 4

    Ballistic missile subs

• KPA artillery

  • Koksan 170mm SP gun200 – 500

    DMZ tunnel guns

  • 300mm MRLS100 – 200

    Saturation fire

• Ground forces

  • Chonma-2 MBT100 – 200

    New generation

  • T-55/T-62 (legacy)2,000 – 4,000

    Mass inventory

• Air force

  • MiG-2935 – 40

    Capital defense

  • Su-2534 – 38

    Ground attack

• Underground facilities

  • Hardened command UGF10,000 – 20,000

    Tunnel complexes

Bases & infrastructure (22)

• North Korea Ministry of Defense

  hub

  National command and crisis coordination

  command

• North Korea Army Headquarters

  military base

  Ground forces command and mobilization center

  army

• North Korea Primary Air Base

  airport

  Combat aviation and airlift hub

  air

• North Korea Naval Base

  port

  Fleet homeport and coastal defense

  naval

• North Korea Main Seaport

  port

  Strategic maritime trade and logistics gateway

  trade

• North Korea Defense Industrial Complex

  factory

  Ammunition, vehicles, and sustainment production

  manufacturing

• North Korea Munitions plant

  factory

  Artillery shells, small arms, explosives

  ammunition

• North Korea Oil & gas refinery

  factory

  Fuel processing and petrochemicals

  energy

• North Korea Integrated Air Defense Site

  military base

  Long-range SAM coverage for capital region

  air_defense

• North Korea Early Warning Radar

  military base

  Air and missile tracking

  air_defense

• North Korea Combined Arms Training Area

  military base

  Brigade-level exercises and mobilization

  training

• North Korea Border Defense Outpost

  military base

  Frontier surveillance and rapid response

  army

• North Korea Cyber Command Center

  hub

  Offensive/defensive cyber operations

  cyber

• North Korea Forward Corps HQ

  military base

  Theater-level ground command

  army

• North Korea Secondary Airfield

  airport

  Dispersal, training, and surge capacity

  air

• Sinpo South Shipyard

  port

  SLBM submarine development basin.

  naval

• Pyongsan missile base

  military base

  TEL storage & assembly vaults.

  missiles

• Sangwon missile complex

  military base

  Strategic rocket force UGF.

  missiles · nuclear

• DMZ artillery bastions

  military base

  Koksan guns & MRLS in mountain tunnels.

  artillery

• KPA Supreme Command (Pyongyang)

  hub

  National military HQ.

  command

• Yongbyon nuclear complex

  research

  Fissile material production.

  nuclear

• Wonsan coastal defense

  port

  East coast fleet sector.

  naval

Deployable units (19)

• 1st Mechanized Brigade (North Korea)armor
• 3rd Infantry Division HQarmy
• 7th Artillery Regimentarmy
• Air Defense Battalion (capital)sam
• Special Operations Task Grouparmy
• Coastal Defense Regimentnavy
• Tactical UAV Squadrondrone
• Logistics Support Brigadefacility · Supply and transport hub
• Armored Cavalry Squadronarmor
• Combat Aviation Wing (detachment)air
• Hwasong-17 ICBM regimentfacility · Liquid-fueled heavy ICBM
• Hwasong-18 ICBM regimentfacility · Solid-fueled mobile ICBM
• Hwasong-12 / 16b IRBM batteryfacility · HGV configurations
• Sinpo / Romeo-mod SLBM submarinenavy · Pukguksong launch tubes
• Koksan 170mm artillery regimentartillery · Seoul-range guns in cover
• 240mm/300mm MRLS saturation battalionartillery · Mass rocket salvos
• Chonma-2 tank brigadearmor · New-gen domestic MBT
• MiG-29 / Su-25 capital defenseair · Limited air superiority
• Mohajer-style recon UAV celldrone · Artillery spotting

Theater glossary

KPA

Korean People's Army — asymmetric dug-in doctrine.

UGF

Underground facilities — tunnel-housed artillery & missiles.

Hwasong-18

Solid-fueled ICBM — rapid TEL rollout.

Koksan gun

170mm SP gun — can reach Seoul from DMZ cover.

Sinpo yard

SLBM submarine development center.

Chokepoint

Narrow sea or land passage where trade or military traffic can be blocked.

Rare earth

Elements used in magnets, motors, and precision weapons — China dominates refining.

SPR

Strategic Petroleum Reserve — emergency crude stockpile.

TSMC

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing — advanced logic fab cluster.

Hormuz

Strait of Hormuz — ~20% of global oil transits.

Malacca

Strait of Malacca — busiest shipping lane between Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Suwałki corridor

Poland–Lithuania land bridge — NATO logistics vulnerability.

Cobalt belt

DRC–Zambia mining corridor — battery supply chain.

Lithium triangle

Chile–Argentina–Bolivia brine deposits — EV battery input.

Grain corridor

Black Sea / Danube export routes — global food security.

Red Sea corridor

Bab el-Mandeb through Suez — Houthi interdiction risk.

Taiwan Strait lane

Kaohsiung–Busan chip & container sea lane under blockade exercise.

Black Sea grain lane

Odesa/Danube export routes under missile and mine threat.

Horn access lane

Djibouti–Massawa–Assab Red Sea port competition axis.